Being Ignatian in a secularised context

This year’s JECSE Formators Conference took place in the beautiful Old Abbey in Drongen, Flanders, and we welcomed participants (26) from Belgium North and South, Ireland, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Spain and The Netherlands.

The theme of our meeting was ‘being Ignatian in a secularised context’. This was a continuation of the conversation begun in JESEDU in Rio last October; our purpose in Drongen was to explore how as Ignatian educators we can find new ways (and new words) to meet the ‘needs of the times’ in our European context.

Helping us to ‘dive deeper’ into this theme was Renilde Vos who served as a most articulate and prayerful animator of the main part of the programme. She introduced the group to her work with the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius and to the innovative approaches that she had developed with largely secular participants in the past.

Previously, Renilde worked both as a teacher of Religious Education and as Deputy Head of the parish connected to the Catholic University in Leuven, Flanders. During her study of theology her focus moved from an academic study of Ethics to a more mystical perspective, with Renilde paying ever more attention to the transcendental dimension of human experience.

Working as a religious educator in an increasingly secularised and pluralistic context Renilde started to focus on the question of how to pass on Catholic faith in a more meaningful and relevant way - that is to say in a way that is more connected to the existential experience of her students. Her aim was always how to help them ‘come home’ to their deeper selves.

Renilde told us that she became aqcuainted with the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius in the Old Abbey of Drongen itself. It was in this very place that, in her own words, the ‘monk in her was awakened’. This engagement therefore, with the formators from Jesuit schools present, had a special significance for her. She went on to tell us that she is passionate about the Exercises and convinced about the strength of their dynamics not only as a method for deep discernment, but also as a way to learn to be less self-centered and more connected to others and to God. In that sense she calls them ‘a method of the heart’, a ‘spirituality of love’, based on the pedagogical model of Jesus himself, helping us to grow into an ever more generous love.

Renilde spoke of her time as a spiritual guide with people coming from very different religious backgrounds, some of them struggling with the language of the Bible and the tradition. She started looking for an alternative, more open, way to work with the Exercises. That is to say, following their dynamics and opening up their language, to make the Exercises more accesible for people from diverse backgrounds so as to help them develop their interiority and to give words to their inner experiences.

During the conference she explained her methodology and allowed us to experience part of her programme, using simple breathing and attention exercises and the imaginative meditation method published by Hieronymus Nadal. The focus was on the themes of passion and compassion.

She also introduced us to a playful methodology for interreligious dialogue.

A clear model for metareflection helped us afterwards to name specific spiritual competences achieved and to evaluate the pedagogical and professional relevance of the work done.

Besides enjoying the strong and open atmosphere within the group participants began to appreciate how this methodology could be a very direct and powerful way to work with students and staff so as to help them move ‘into depth’. Some reported how the input offered a refreshing and deeper understanding of the process underlying the Spiritual Excercises, and the value of structuring and meta-communication as such. There was also an appreciation of the creative approach of working with art and poetry.

With the kind permission of Renilde Vos we’re happy to share her resources.